Sensei
by hitherelovely
Summary: Sakura Haruno is a 19-year old virgin. Kakashi Hatake is a notorious playboy who also happens to be her teacher. So when her new mission involves twirling on poles, stripping, and worse, who else is better to educate her than him?
1. A Mission

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, I swear! Nor do I own the cover photo!**

**Warning: This story has mature content**

**_~s.e.n.s.e.i~_**

**Sensei © hitherelovely**

**Naruto © Misashi Kishimoto**

**Chapter 1 – **

_"A Mission"_

* * *

Kakashi Hatake slammed his hands on the desk—to be more specific, the Hokage's desk.

"You want me to do _what_?" He snarled.

Tsunadewas mildly surprised. She had never seen Hatake question her authority or a mission before. He was the most elite of all the shinobi in the village and typically acted like it. He would come into her office, she would hand him a scroll, explain a few things, and he would be on his way, doing what he was best at—killing. So the fact that he had dented the wood on her favorite desk was not exactly a thrilling thing.

"Can you not read, Kakashi? I want you to go on this mission—_with Sakura_." She snapped, arching a slim brow, as if daring him to question her again.

Kakashi re-read the scroll, even though he had already memorized the mission. He shook his head—it made no damn sense.

He looked up, his one visible eye a stormy grey orb. His face was set in a scowl and even though he was wearing a mask, it was obvious he was not happy.

"She isn't ready," He decided, "You need someone more experienced. Sakura is a child." Despite the fact that his former student was nineteen years old and a well-respected ninja in the village, he still saw her as the thirteen year-old girl who found boys more interesting than how to use a five-pointed shuriken.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. Did he think she was stupid?

The Tsuchikage had sent her an emergency request earlier in the day. He needed a kunoichi between the ages of 16 and 22 to fulfill the mission. If only Anko was slightly younger, she would've sent the snake woman instantly. Nobody else was available—the second choice, Ino Yamanaka was on a week-long mission and the Tsuchikage had expressed that he needed the mission done as quickly as possible.

Kakashi ran a hand through his tousled hair, frustrated beyond belief. He idly wondered if he was acting like this because he was like a parent to her or if it was something else.

He knew she was right, of course. Sakura was her star pupil and one of the village's most treasured medics; she would really have to be the last option. But there was no way he could go with his former student on a mission like this. And there was absolutely no way in hell he could teach her how to—

The jounin's thoughts were abruptly cut off at a soft knock on the door.

Tsunade threw him a warning glance before saying, "Come in."

The door squeaked open and a pink head peeked in. Jade eyes blinked curiously before the girl walked in and shut the door behind her. Kakashi grimaced. She was much too innocent. He couldn't see himself instructing her how to be dirty or doing anything even remotely sexual. She was like clean, untouched, fresh-fallen snow. She didn't need his corruption tainting her and she certainly did not need this mission.

After politely greeting her shishou, Sakura Haruno turned to her former sensei.

"Kakashi-sensei?" She asked, obviously confused.

He managed a strangled eye-smile and fought down the urge to ruffle her hair like he used to when she was thirteen. After this mission, there was no way he would be able to see her as he used to.

Sakura was wearing a red sleeveless high-collar shirt, a surgical mask pulled down to her neck, and her navy skirt was dotted with blood. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail and as she walked closer, Kakashi could pick up the suffocating antiseptic perfume that came with working in the hospital.

She had been cooped up in the hospital for months now. How long had it been since she had been on a mission? Could she still fight? Better yet, how long had it been since they had been on a mission _together_?

Tsunade cleared her throat.

"Sakura," she began, "I called you here for a mission—with Kakashi. Since you've worked together before, this should be no problem." Sakura nodded. Of course; their teamwork would be slightly rusty, but they could still probably coordinate well. She furrowed her brows—though it was strange that nobody had mentioned what the mission would entail yet.

Tsunade paused and took a breath. No, she was not sending her most talented student out to die. This was the harsh reality of what many kunoichi had to do with their ninja lives—sell their bodies for information.

"Sakura, you will be posing as a stripper on this mission."

Tsunade had said it so nonchalantly that she almost didn't catch it. The room was as quiet as a graveyard as the words sunk in. Sakura froze. Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. She was kidding, right? _A stripper?_ She almost scoffed. _Her on a pole? Trying to be sexy and whatnot?_

"Um, excuse me?"

Tsunade paused, not quite sure what to say. Fortunately, Kakashi filled her in.

"There have been a series of killings in Iwagakure, to be more precise, the murders of prostitutes and strippers. The killer has been dubbed **Jack the Ripper**," Kakashi explained, "The Tsuchikage has lost three kunoichi already on the mission which is why he has requested Konoha's help. You will pose as a stripper and I will be there to help you by acting as a regular customer…" He paused and his gaze shifted, "The journey takes three days and in that time, I will be instructing you on how to act as an exotic dancer. This will be a completely professional mission, Sakura." It almost seemed like he said the last sentence for himself.

The fact that he said "exotic dancer" was enough to make her cringe. She couldn't understand half the words he had just said and her shock was apparent on her face.

Tsunade's eyes honey eyes darkened to amber. "Sakura, the poll dancing will be the easy part; the real way to get information is to…well, frankly speaking, _sex_."

If she had thought that wearing a G-string in front of a crowd of people was bad, this was only about a thousand times worse. Sex? With some rough, careless stranger? Someone who would use her for their own personal pleasure, throw a few bills down, and leave.

The Hokage steeled her gaze, "Sakura, I know that you will be competing in the Jounin Exams in the upcoming fall. You should know that kunoichi are required to do a covert mission like this before they are allowed to become Jounin so I highly suggest that you not back out. Also, Kakashi will be there to…teach you the things that you will need to do. He's done this before."

She had failed last year, only because she had refused to work undercover at a brothel. Ino had taken her position and Ino had the title of Jounin now.

Of course, the copy-nin was famous not only for this sharingan eye but also for his promiscuous ways. The fact that he was such a well-known shinobi, plus his mysterious ways had women jumping off of bridges for a night with him. There was a reason he was always late to their team meetings. She wouldn't deny that he was attractive, but he was her sensei. There had to be some kind of boundary.

Sakura had to hold onto the desk to keep from toppling over. She knew that ninjas, especially kunoichi, had to do disgusting things for their countries. She knew that most ninjas her age had already done it. Like Ino for example, Ino was suited for this type of mission with her giant chest and sultry eyes, Ino who could pick up guys from bars with a bat of her eyelashes whereas Sakura went home alone every time.

The pink haired girl felt like screaming. She'd never even…done it before. She was still chaste and pure. She had saved herself for a certain Uchiha, on the childish hopes that he would come back to Konoha and sweep her off her feet.

How stupid she had been.

And Kakashi? Her sensei? The man had done more than teach her how to throw a kunai—he was like her second father! And he was going to be teaching her? Teaching her what, exactly? With all the perverted books he always had his nose in, she shuddered to find out.

But she wanted to be a jounin so bad. To be able to command her own platoon of medical ninjas, to travel to other countries and do clinical trials...her dreams were based on her passing the Jounin exam. She grit her teeth. She had to do this.

Tsunade briefly explained more details on the mission and the fact that they were to leave the following morning for the three-day journey.

The second she was done, Sakura grabbed the scroll, bowed, and left the room.

Kakashi watched her go.

* * *

Kakashi opened his eyes lazily. There was an urgent knockingg on his door. Was the village under attack or something? He stifled a yawn and glanced at his dusty alarm clock, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

2:33 AM.

He groaned. So much for a good night's sleep. Grumbling softly, he rolled out of bed, forgoing his headband and also a shirt, before sauntering to the door.

Pulling it open, he was not surprised to see a girl. However, he was surprised to see his pink-haired student.

"Sakura?"

* * *

She had no idea what possessed her to walk all the way across town to her sensei's house. She just knew that she needed to tell him. So, in the dead of night, after thinking for hours, she realized that she needed to get rid of her little liability.

And after meandering around for half an hour, she wound up at his house, and before she knew it, she was knocking on his door.

The door groaned opened and Sakura blinked in astonishment. She hardly registered the fact that he said her name.

Kakashi was leaning against the doorframe. His hair was more disheveled than it usually was and the fact that he wasn't wearing his headband left his bangs in disarray over his forehead. Mismatched eyes peered at her curiously. But what really caught her guard was his shirt—or lack thereof. She had known that her teacher was fairly muscular, almost all shinobi were. But she had never seen him half-naked before. He wasn't wearing a shirt and from years of rigorous training, he looked like a Greek god, all lean and toned muscle. Wait—oh lord, he had a six pack! Inner Sakura squealed with delight. She caught herself blushing and mentally cursed herself. For goodness sakes! She was a medic and she'd seen an abdomen before. She repeated that mantra in her head as she focused on her sensei's face. His asymmetrical gaze was piercing and she immediately shifted her attention to the ground.

"Um, can I come in?" She squeaked.

"Of course." He said. It made sense for her to be scared for the mission and to turn to her teacher for help. He would talk her down before going back to sleep. No problem.

He led her to his kitchen and gestured for her to take a seat. She warily slid into a chair by his counter. To her surprise, his house was fairly neat. The sink had a couple dishes in it, but despite this, everything seemed to be neat—untouched almost. He was probably almost never home anyways.

"Want anything to drink?" He asked casually.

She sat up straighter in her chair. "You have any sake?"

He coughed to hide his surprise. Again, he kept seeing her as a defenseless preteen. She was legal, in Konoha's standards, a year ago. He nodded and brought out two glasses.

Sakura shifted nervously in her seat. She really wished he would put a shirt on, but then she kind of wished her wouldn't. _ This is wrong_, she told herself, but Inner Sakura was too busy doing backflips to notice.

Kakashi turned back to her and set the two glasses on the countertop. She quickly grabbed it and downed it in one gulp. He blinked in surprise, before filling her glass up again.

His quickly drank his when she wasn't looking, the alcohol burning down his throat.

They sat like that for a while, with her finishing off two, three, four more glasses and him drinking when she wasn't paying attention. When he was about to ask her what was wrong, she spoke.

"I'm a virgin."

He blinked in shock. He knew she was fairly innocent but she had never even had _sex_ before? There was no way she could go on this mission. Kakashi looked at her. Her long pink hair flowed down her waist, not tied into the typical ponytail he was used to. She wore a thin strapped tank-top with tight shorts that showed off her small curves. He hadn't noticed when she just…grew up. He was also surprised that he found her pretty, but assured himself that it was probably because he hadn't had a female companion in a few weeks.

His throat felt dry.

"Sakura, you shouldn't—" He began, but she quickly cut him off.

"Sleep with me."

Her words stole the breath from him as his brain was bombarded with images that made him shudder. Long pink hair spread across his pillow, long silky legs wrapped around his waist, her head thrown back as he—suddenly, she wasn't the little thirteen year-old girl anymore. Suddenly, she was a wanton nineteen year-old woman. He struggled for the right words to say. _I'm not going to deflower you for a mission? You don't know what you really want?_

"You're drunk." He said finally.

Sakura shook her head, loose tendrils of pink flowing around her face. She needed to pass the Jounin Exam and this was the only way.

"I want you to have sex with me, sensei." She said, determination shining in her emerald orbs. She should've lost her virginity years ago, with her occupation, but she had stupidly refused the advances of every boy that held interest for her because she had been convinced that Sasuke would come back and fall head over heels for her. Well, she was ready now and Kakashi was somebody that she trusted. He was also fairly attractive and she knew that it would be like a one night stand—they would never speak of it again.

Kakashi knew that their relationship would never be back to normal if he did this.

_But with the mission, your relationship would be different anyways._

He shook the thought away angrily. Sakura was just drunk and upset about the mission. She didn't actually want her first time to be with her sensei, who also happened to be thirteen years her senior.

Kakashi set a hand on her bare shoulder and looked into her eyes. Sakura found herself forgetting how to breathe, with the full force of his stormy gaze and sharingan eye on her.

"Sakura," he said gently, "You don't want this, trust me." His hand gripped her shoulder tighter.

"Kakashi-sensei, I need to do this before we reach Iwagakure. If I don't, I will screw up and my cover will be blown." She insisted. It was just a one-time thing and it was great, being all uncorrupted and all, but now, it was just holding her back.

"You don't know what you're asking." He was talking to her like a parent would, coaxing some naughty child away from jumping into a lion's den.

She bit her lip in frustration. Why couldn't he just understand? She did want this, so that she could be useful. She had been secluded in the hospital for months now; her last mission was a relatively easy C-ranked one that involved delivering a scroll. This was a challenging A-ranked mission and she was ready to prove herself as an able shinobi. She was going to convince him. She was going to prove to everybody that she could be a Jounin.

So she did what came natural, she ground against him.

Kakashi choked, his hand clutched her shoulder and unaware, he pulled her flush against him. She did it again, rocking her hips evenly against his, hard.

He looked at her and she bit her lip until it was a deep red.

He groaned.

"Sakura," he growled gruffly, "stop." He did not want to feel...like _this_, especially not from his former student.

Of course, she did it again.

"Sensei," she breathed against his ear, "_Please_."

She had once read in a medical journal, on how the reproductive system worked and she knew the scientific way to arouse a man. However, she had no idea where she learned how to grind against her teacher, but she knew that she liked it, being against his bare body. Maybe it was because she was slightly drunk and that gave her more courage. Whatever the reason, it didn't really matter at that moment.

When she called him sensei, in such a breathy sigh, Kakashi almost lost it. It took all his resolve not to take her on his countertop right then and there.

He steeled himself with an iron will.

"No, Sakura."

Wasn't he known as the dark, primal animal? When had the tables been turned to his little innocent student as the seductress?

"It'll be completely professional." She assured him.

He ground his teeth. She was using his own words against him.

Sakura didn't know what the hell was wrong with her. She was quaking slightly. She didn't feel like her virginity was a prize—it was a burden. One that she was going to get rid of.

Kakashi considered the pros and cons. Well, there certainly were a lot of positives to gain. For one, Sakura wouldn't have to lose her virginity to some disgusting low-life scum and she would be more prepared. But was that worth compromising their student-teacher relationship? Their trust just for one night of passion?

He was at a serious fork in the road and Sakura was dragging him down the dark path.

She looked at him earnestly now. "Please."

Then she nibbled on his ear and he knew what he was going to do.

Bending down, he easily lifted her up to his chest, trailing masked kisses down her neck. She gasped. He walked quickly across the house until he reached his room. Carelessly, he set her down on his bed. She didn't even have enough time to look around before his lithe form was on her, over her, everywhere.

He was suffocating.

Kakashi kept his mask on; even though he was sure that the darkness would shield his face from her. He didn't plan on making this slow and sweet. He would show her just how rough those men would be and she would run away. He would save her, he would make her scream, crying to the Hokage, pleading for somebody else to take the mission. He would save her.

At least that's what he told himself.

Sakura fought for breath under him. Just seconds ago, he had been fine. Now, it was like he wanted to consume her. A wave of fear threatened to drown her but she fought it off. Kakashi was her sensei. She trusted him. He would be gentle.

Kakashi didn't kiss her, he didn't murmur reassuring phrases, he didn't even act like Kakashi.

He was acting like a cheap ass, getting a quick fix from her.

He yanked off her shorts and she realized she didn't want it anymore.

"Kakashi, stop."

He acted like he didn't hear her, and slid his hands up the flat planes of her stomach.

"Please, stop." Her voice was more urgent now, more desperate. With a sinking feeling in his gut, he still continued. His hands trailed even farther up until she was shaking. It took several moments for him to register that she was sobbing.

"Stop! Stop now, please!" She choked out.

She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes, pleading for mercy, and he finally backed down, not able to reach her eyes.

She backed away from him, like a wounded animal, her eyes flashing warily. She dressed quickly, pulling her shorts on. In a flash, she flung open his door and ran. She sprinted out of his house, breathing in the crisp night air and sobbing freely now.

He watched her run down the street until she was out of sight.

Then he pulled the bottle of sake to his lips and drained it, assuring himself over and over again that he had done the right thing.

* * *

**So there's the first chapter! Starting off the story with a lot of tension. This will not be like my other stories—this will be explicitly mature.**

**Please review! I'm not sure if I should've started the story like this so feedback would be great so I could go back and re-do the plot.**

**~THANKS FOR READING~**

**-hitherelovely**


	2. Tribulations

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, I swear! Nor do I own the cover photo!**

**Warning: This story has mature content**

**Thanks so much to my amazing beta, Bree Avalon! And you guys for actually taking the time to review(:**

**_~s.e.n.s.e.i~_**

**Sensei © hitherelovely**

**Naruto © Misashi Kishimoto**

**Chapter 2 – **

_"Tribulations"_

* * *

Sakura was used to awkward situations. Quite used to them. Whether it was poking the Godaime awake with a very, _very_ long stick, or dragging Naruto's naked ass out of a bar occasionally, she handled them with the grace of a seasoned ballerina.

But not now.

They sprang from tree to tree, neither saying a word, Sakura trailing a couple yards behind him.

The awkward was eerily tangible, like a mist that covered her and threatened to make her do something stupid just to kill the uncomfortable silence.

She flushed in embarrassment as last night's memories came back, haunting. The provocative way she had acted, how roughly he treated her, and then her pathetic resolve crumbling away when she realized that she wasn't ready and just ran.

They had three days to reach Iwa.

He had three days to teach her how to dance on a pole.

Fun.

The impossibly short yukata and bamboo sandals she had on didn't help her distraught mood either. She was supposed to blend in, in case they ran into anybody, and Kakashi was to pose as a rogue ninja, selling her off, so he got to wear his usual Konoha garb. Jumping over a tree, she hit a branch with the back of her foot, like usual, only this time, because of her useless civilian shoes, she almost fell out of the tree completely. Growling quietly, she tugged down the end of her green yukata. It was worn out with a few holes freshly stabbed (to blend in) and too short for her tastes; it also looked a size too small. She hadn't even been allowed to wear shorts or tights under them because that would give her away as a ninja.

Her thoughts wandered back to the mission at hand.

The place that Sakura was going to be dancing at wasn't exactly…_legal_, per say.

It was actually quite _illegal_.

The strip club thrived off of kidnapped girls-ones that they took usually came from ninja (like what Kakashi was planning on doing) or went out patrolling for with no backgrounds.

It was these types of girls that Jack the Ripper often liked to prey on. The ones with no family, no connections, and most importantly—that no one would miss.

Which was why they had agreed to choose this club.

The tavern that Kakashi picked was extremely sketchy, in her opinion. It was called "Forced into Love."

Sakura guffawed inwardly at the irony.

The man that Kakashi would bargain with for her, his name was **Daisuke Yashiro**. He owned several chains of clubs, most of which were closed down from the murders, so he was in a fairly desperate situation right now; he would be eager to take any girl he could get.

She had seen his picture and already memorized everything about him. He was narrowly thin, resembling one of the many poles in his club, with a neatly trimmed mustache and beady yellow eyes. He had dark, black hair that was greased back and his teeth looked disgustingly rotten.

She didn't like him one bit.

And her team leader hadn't exactly said anything to reassure her either.

Kakashi hadn't said a word to her the entire day. They had just set off that morning; Sakura had tried to start a conversation, like they did back in her genin days with questions about what he looked like underneath the mask and all, but nothing seemed to work this time. Her words just kept getting caught in her throat.

Maybe if she hadn't agreed to it in the first place, it wouldn't have happened. Maybe if she had told her shishou in the beginning, that she was a virgin, her relationship with Kakashi would be okay right now.

Of course, after last night's humiliating spectacle, she _had_ tried to back out.

* * *

_"Shishou?" Sakura asked, knocking on the door of the Hokage's office._

_The only noise she heard in response was a faint buzzing noise, one that Sakura knew all too well._

_Snoring._

_The pink-haired shinobi opened the door, not at all surprised at the sight that greeted her._

_Tsunade had passed out on her desk, a bottle of sake held loosely in her fingers and mountains of paperwork surrounding her. Her mouth was wide open and an unreal amount of drool was dripping from her chin. Sakura sighed. She would most likely have to do all of the paperwork after her teacher heard her request._

_Walking to the Hokage, Sakura shook her shoulder gently._

_"Grramf…Go away, Jiraiya…" The blonde Hokage mumbled, obviously still half-asleep. Sakura shook her shoulder again, albeit with slightly more force. The exotic-haired girl sighed, assuring herself that though her teacher was slightly crazy, she was a good leader for the Hidden Leaf. _

_"I'll punch your face in…pervert…" _

_Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes._

_"Shishou, wake up." She shook Tsunade again, this time hard, until the blonde woman's head snapped back painfully and she awoke, honey eyes blinking awake._

_They zeroed in on Sakura._

_"Sakura," she demanded, "Why the hell are you here? You're supposed to leave for your mission in an hour."_

_Sakura inwardly winced. _Might as well get this over with…

_"Shishou, I'm a virgin."_

_Hazel orbs blinked in confusion before waves of realization flooded them._

_"What?" She snapped angrily, sleep all but forgotten as she jumped to her feet, "You're a _what_?"_

_Sakura looked at the ground in shame and shuffled her feet nervously._

_"I-I'm sorry, but I really wanted to be a Jounin and…" she paused, struggling for words, "and I realized that I can't do this mission."_

_Yes, she realized that as she ran, sobbing away from her sensei's home._

_Tsunade narrowed her eyes. She couldn't believe Sakura. The girl had a lot of ambition; that was for sure, with what she talked about opening free clinics in Suna and teaching more medical ninjutsu in Konoha. But she couldn't believe that her student actually had the audacity to _lie_ to her about an extremely important mission and then try to take it all back. She had already told the Tsuchikage and to refuse now could ignite things between the two nations. No, the answer was clear. As much as her star pupil would hate her for it, Sakura had to go._

_Tsunade cleared her throat._

_"Sakura, you have to do this mission," She said grimly, "I've already notified the Tsuchikage and he's expecting this mission to be done by Hatake Kakashi and Haruno Sakura. No buts."_

You should have said so earlier.

_But that was left unsaid._

_Nodding slowly, Sakura kept the tears from rising up. She didn't want her teacher to see how pitiful she really was. She was a capable shinobi. She could do this._

_Besides…not even the Hokage could get her out of this one._

_Straightening up, Sakura bowed in polite respect before whirling around and all but running out of the Hokage building._

_Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples. Damn hangovers and stupid, headstrong kids._

_"I know you're there, brat." She announced to no one in particular._

_A silver mop of hair suddenly appeared from the window and the Copy Nin gave a lazy, "Yo." He was leaning against the wall, nose-deep in Jiraya's newest novel, _Tactics_._

_Tsunade glanced at him._

_"I presume you heard everything?"_

_Kakashi nodded, paying attention to his reading and flipping a page absentmindedly._

_"Hatake, you have new orders along with finding Jack the Ripper."_

_Kakashi arched a slim brow, eyes looking up from his ever-present porn._

_Tsunade folded her manicured hands neatly in front of her._

_"Make sure Sakura isn't a virgin by the time you get to Iwa."_

Icha Icha Tactics_ landed on the ground with a thud._

* * *

Kakashi sighed wearily, rubbing his thumb over the edge of his mask. He was getting a migraine just from thinking about Tsunade's orders—which happened to be possibly the most excruciating command he'd ever heard from any Hokage.

Take on the Akatsuki? _Sure, no problem._ Go assassinate an S-rank criminal? _Of course._ Steal back war secrets from the samurai? _Yes, Hokage-sama._ Massacre a village? _For Konoha._

Deflower Sakura?

_Hell no._

Seriously, the Godaime might be asking too much of the Copy Ninja this time.

He would honestly rather go and slap the Raikage in the face.

Kakashi frowned, half-heartedly wishing for his precious Icha Icha to give him a piece of mind and calm him down. But he'd left it at home so he could focus on the task at hand. That was a stupid move. He needed something to distract him and he'd left that one thing a hundred miles away, tucked in his pillow. He idly wondered if they could stop at a bookstore.

It was kind of funny how his most cherished item happened to be written porn.

The jounin's feet hit the tree soundlessly, propelling off onto the next branch with ease and then unconsciously—instinctively—softening his landing with a subtle hint of chakra before repeating the motion. Trailing further behind him, his ex-student copied his movements perfectly. He had, after all, taught her all the basics of being a ninja.

The day was starting to creep towards the late afternoon, the birds weren't chirping quite as loud anymore, and the sun began wearily edging towards the tips of the mountains.

He had three days.

He probably needed about three years.

* * *

They decided to make camp about an hour before the last rays of the gentle sun were obscured by night. It was extremely awkward and Sakura's throat was gruff because she had not spoken a single word in the entirety of their journey.

She was leaping behind him, panting slightly from the high velocity they had been running at. She was pretty sure she could continue for about three more minutes because her chakra was being sucked up from having to keep up with the silver-haired jounin.

"We'll stop here for camp," Kakashi announced, but Sakura didn't hear him, she was too busy concentrating on her speed.

She huffed and cursed herself for not training more and cooping herself in the hospital when Kakashi abruptly stopped dead in his tracks and she all but barreled him out of the sky.

The pink-haired kunoichi had not been paying attention at all and let out a surprised shriek when she found herself head-deep in a green flak jacket.

"Oomf!"

Kakashi didn't budge as she threw herself onto him; it was like hitting a brick wall. She slammed into his unyielding form before collapsing and falling to the ground. He barely noticed, only opting to let out a brief, "Hm?" before his student was falling from the tree canopies faster than he could blink.

Sakura didn't even bother to scream. It was futile and she knew it, even though she kept gathering chakra in her arms in attempts to catch onto flashes of branches. All that amounted to that was her drained chakra failing completely and her body being slashed by the angry tree limbs.

They were about thirty feet up in the air and she figured that she might break an arm or a leg or perhaps dislocate something but that was easily fixable—once her chakra returned.

She almost hoped for Kakashi to catch her, sweep her in his arms before she hit the ground but this dream was sadly crushed when a second later, she slammed into the forest floor.

_THUD!_

The impact sent birds flying from the treetops, shrieking their protests. Sakura didn't really care.

Letting out a pained cry and her face contorting into a torturous grimace, Sakura hissed—she'd heard two cracks, one from her leg and another somewhere in her arm.

She cursed herself for being so weak and relying on Kakashi so much. When she was younger and less adept at chakra control, she would lose her footing on trees a lot, and Kakashi-sensei would always be there, no matter what, to catch her before she hit the ground.

Not this time.

She also mentally slapped herself for not cushioning her fall with chakra—or what reserves she had left—it was a rookie mistake and it would take hours before her chakra was steady enough for her to heal herself.

There wasn't a single sound that alerted Sakura to his presence, but a light breeze carried the faint scent of sandalwood and evergreen, his smell, and sure enough, Kakashi's shadow loomed over her.

He smiled his fake one-eyed smile and she knew it was fake because his eyebrows were arched too high and his shoulders carried tension on them. She huffed, _I'm not a child anymore sensei, _and frankly, his stupid smile hurt her more than the fall did.

"Maa, Sakura, I believe I taught you better than that."

She glared at him, her emerald eyes flashed coldly, like icicles that threatened to fall on unsuspecting victims. Just another thing that he taught her.

He merely raised a brow, obviously unaffected by her icy anger.

Squatting down next to her, he prodded her arm, resulting in a harsh hiss of pain. Her arm was twisted in an awkward angle, dislocated probably, and was starting to bruise viciously. Her leg happened to be no better; it was snapped and it took everything she had to not scream out in pain.

Not that she would show weakness in front of him. She wanted him to know that she was no longer the weak little preteen who was constantly protected by Naruto and Sasuke—she could hold her own.

Unfortunately, her ungraceful tumble to the ground probably contradicted that completely.

Kakashi suddenly braced his hand on her arm and said simply, "Hey, I'm going to pop it back in place."

Sakura's eyes widened and she stiffened automatically.

"What? Sensei, you don't know what you're—_FUCK!_"

The forest resounded with her screech of pain and the sickening sound of her arm snapping back in place. She sucked in a deep, shaky breath and gave him her most evil look.

If her glare earlier had been frosty, this one wished for his death in about twenty different ways.

She whirled on him. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" She snapped, cradling her arm against herself and wincing in the process. He didn't respond, but his gaze trailed curiously down to her leg.

"Oh, don't you _dare_…!"

Sakura didn't have time to say anything before he set her leg, fitting the cracked pieces together. She bit her lip, hard, drawing blood at the pain, absolutely refusing to scream again though she desperately wanted to holler every curse word she knew.

To her surprise, a Kakashi's gloved hand turned into a glowing green and she gave a gasp of disbelief. Within a few minutes, the pain ebbed away and her leg was joined once again. When he turned to her arm, Sakura's anger ebbed away for the most part and she murmured, "I didn't know you knew medical ninjutsu…"

An onyx orb flickered to her face and back to her arm lazily.

"I wouldn't be alive if I didn't know the basics, it just takes a bit of chakra."

"…It would've been a lot easier if you just caught me, you know."

"No offense…but you're not as light as you used to be."

A neatly jabbed elbow (her good elbow) to his gut shut the sharingan-user up quite quickly.

Sakura was stunned at how easy their banter was—like the previous night never even happened. She bit her lip. But that night would never be forgotten by either of them, no matter how drunk they both were.

He healed her arm within a few more minutes, in a comfortable silence.

Once he was finished, Sakura flexed her arm, pleasantly surprised that it was almost as good as new. Despite his ability to utilize medical ninjutsu, Kakashi was not as adept as her. She would finish healing the rest once her chakra returned.

As if wanting to embarrass her more, Sakura's stomach suddenly let out an frustrated growl at not having eaten anything the entire day. Green eyes blinked and a blush that rivaled the color of her hair bloomed on the girl's face.

Kakashi chuckled, "I guess that means we'll settle here for the night."

Sakura frowned. They were supposed to be stopping at the inn in the next village over and she would gladly kill for a bath.

As if reading her mind, Kakashi replied, "We're both fairly tired and besides, I'm not sure how much pressure your leg can take. It's better that you look at it after you've rested up."

Still pouting slightly, Sakura nodded. He did have a valid reason, like always.

Without waiting for her response, Kakashi set his pack down on the ground and sat down leisurely. He looked slightly upset and Sakura wondered if that had something to do with his missing piece of literature. He always brought to stupid orange book on every one of their missions, but that was probably because he had time to read on simple C and D ranked missions.

This one probably needed his attention elsewhere.

Pulling her bag off her shoulders, Sakura opened a container of dried berries and nuts. Plopping a few in her mouth, she chewed slowly, thoughtfully, trying to preserve her limited supply of food.

_Wait a second…_

Turning slyly at the sulking Kakashi, she held out her tubberware of food.

Innocently, she offered, "Hey sensei, you want some?"

He turned to her slowly, shrugging, "Sure."

He reached for a handful of nuts and berries, his other hand reaching for the edge of his mask. She licked her lips, anticipating.

What if Naruto was right and he did have bucked teeth? Could she still treat him the same? And Sasuke had mentioned something about duck lips?

Sai bet that he had moles.

Sakura shuddered inwardly at that image.

She was very nearly on the edge of her seat.

His hand tugged, ever so slowly, and revealed a tiny portion of his cheek.

She gasped.

Suddenly, he stopped, his eye wide in horror.

"Akatsuki!" He shouted, pointing to the trees. Sakura instinctively ducked, reaching for a kunai and asking, "Where?!"

Her sensei didn't respond and when she turned back to look at him, he was smiling smugly, mask in place and patting his tummy with content. All that remained of the food were little crumbs scattered around the Copy Ninja.

"What? You are such a—_UGH_!" She vented, exasperated beyond belief.

He smiled cheekily, or as cheeky as someone with three-fourths of their face covered can be.

"Ah, just because we're on this mission together doesn't mean you'll be seeing my face anytime soon."

Sakura crossed her arms with a small humph. It really wasn't fair—Sasuke and Naruto were both adored by him and he trained them especially—but not her. The least he could do, after years of maltreatment, was to show her his face.

With the darkness creeping upon them, Kakashi made several shadow clones with the jobs of gathering firewood and scoping the area out. Sakura just settled comfortably between the thick roots of an immense tree.

Within a few minutes, the Copy Ninja's clones returned, each reporting nothing out of the ordinary and all carrying several bundles of firewood. With a quick katon jutsu, a fire was roaring in no time and Sakura was glad. Even though it was summer, the forest still held a chill within it.

Kakashi offered to take first watch and Sakura agreed wholeheartedly. After months of being cooped up in the hospital, her stamina reduced quite dramatically. She spent most of her time healing in the hospital, but she was also teaching a few younger ninjas on the basics of medical ninjutsu. It was aggravating, to say the least, considering all the kids wanted to learn how to make giant fireballs, water dragons, rasengan, and chidori—courtesy of Naruto and Sasuke bursting in on several occasions.

The Uchiha had come back to the village after the war was over; after proving himself quite worthy, Tsunade figured it would be better to have him for Konoha and not against it. She still didn't trust him completely though, half of his chakra was sealed and he was still a genin, going on D and C ranked missions. Surprisingly though, the arrogant Uchiha took it all in stride, only gritting his teeth when he had to catch cats and pull weeds.

Of course Sakura was overjoyed when he was integrated back into Konoha.

She just kind of figured he'd fall head over heels for her.

That never happened.

_Naruto_ did.

She felt embarrassed just thinking about it.

The three of them had agreed to go to Ichiraku's after a simple mission to Suna. Sakura had arrived there first and waited.

For an hour.

Then figuring she had been stood up by not one, but _both_ of her boys, she stormed up to Naruto's apartment, and without even knocking, she barged in.

Sasuke had Naruto pinned down on the counter, and not like a choke-hold, but a lip-lock. The blond Jinchuuriki was even kissing _back_.

So Sakura had ramen alone that day.

It was also part of the reason why she hadn't taken a mission in a while. Tsunade typically paired her up with Naruto (who was a chunin) and Sasuke, a genin, which the obnoxious blonde reminded him of every day. And after seeing them sucking at each other's faces, Sakura did not want to be stuck on a mission with them.

Sure, she was glad to be outside of Konoha for once, but this mission didn't exactly suit her.

The pink haired girl sighed wearily. Everything was just a little screwed up for her right now. She tested her chakra, trying to form it on her palm, but all that happened was a tiny flicker in her hand before that disappeared and she felt a wave of nausea flood her entire being.

Dying by chakra exertion?

Probably not a good idea.

"You really shouldn't do that."

Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _Well duh, Kakashi-sensei_.

She opted to say nothing.

"You can't…possibly still be angry at me, can you?"

Silence ensued.

Sakura nestled deeper within the tree roots. Neither of the shinobi had brought sleeping gear because they both figured they'd reach the little town and check in the inn before night fell. Neither foresaw that Sakura would zone out, not hear Kakashi, and break bones.

Kakashi was sitting across from Sakura, facing the fire, and leaning against the trunk of a tree.

He looked relaxed, but he was sending out waves of his chakra, to check the area. The silver-haired jounin glanced idly at Sakura. She was ignoring him, probably still pissed off about the mask issue.

The fire cast an orange shadow on the girl, making her hair appear to be flaming red. Her eyes were closed, her long lashes brushing against her cheeks like the roots of the tree she was cradled in. But Kakashi knew that she wasn't asleep; her breathing was still too shallow.

And he was glad she wasn't, because two kunai shot from the shadows and would've lodged in her throat, had he not deflected them.

_CLANG!_

The weapons hit against Kakashi's poised kunai and were sent back to their respective owners. A puff and lack of screaming told Kakashi that they used a substitution-jutsu.

The Sharingan Warrior narrowed his eye.

"Come out, already," He called, "Or would you rather I find you?"

Sakura was sitting behind him up and alert. He signaled her behind his back.

_Do not engage them._

The message was clear.

Her cover would be blown if she did otherwise.

The mission began now.

Understanding immediately, the pink haired kunoichi staggered to her feet, the way a civilian would after awakening from sleep.

"W-what's going on?" She stuttered, eyes opening wide in fear. She wrapped her arms around herself, like a good little princess waiting for someone to rescue her. Inwardly, she face palmed. This was why she became a ninja in the first place; playing the damsel in distress really didn't suit her.

"Shut _up_!" Kakashi snapped, frustration lacing his voice, and for a split second, Sakura couldn't tell if he was faking or not.

Deciding to go along with it, she whimpered, "I…I'm sorry!"

She was planning on sobbing her soul out, shortly thereafter, but two shinobi emerged from the shadows, like paint dripping down a canvas.

The two men were tall, and had hoods shielding their faces. One of them pulled back his cloak, revealing bright red hair and a tattoo on his left cheek. He was _huge_, to say the least, his biceps were about the size of her face and she quickly named him number one priority. The other quickly followed suit, and Sakura nearly gasped as she recognized him.

He looked sickly pale, even scrawnier than he had in his picture, with his greased black hair falling limply on his face, small yellow eyes narrowed in focus.

"What do you want?" Kakashi asked warily, allowing his fingers holding the kunai to tremble just slightly.

Daisuke Yashiro pointed a bony finger, right at Sakura, and when he spoke, his chilling voice made her blood run cold.

"Her."

* * *

**PLEASE READ:**

**So, I received a review today that said that ****_Sensei_**** is a lot like J-Pop Princess's ****_Striped Bare_****. **

**I just wanted to say that I respect J-Pop Princess as a writer waaaaaay too much to even think about copying her story in any way.**

**The idea of having a mission that forces Kakashi and Sakura together is used a lot, but I wanted my story to be like that. I didn't have any intention of copying anybody's story. My plotline will be ****completely**** different from ****_Striped Bare_**** but if you guys really have a problem with it, PM me and I'll either re-write the story or delete it all together. Or if J-Pop Princess has an issue with it, I'll delete it because I don't really want to offend anybody.**

**I just hope it doesn't come to that because I'm really liking this story.**

**Thanks for understanding(:**

**And as always, I love you guys! Thanks for the support and reviews and all that other fun stuff you do:D**

**-hitherelovely**


	3. Here I Am

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, I swear! Nor do I own the cover photo!**

**Warning: This story has mature content**

**I don't think my beta has read this yet, well she read the other version, but I re-wrote the chapter, and she hasn't responded yet, though I was in a rush to get this out…sorry for typos and other crap that Bree Avalon usually corrects! **

**_~s.e.n.s.e.i~_**

**Sensei © hitherelovely**

**Naruto © Misashi Kishimoto**

**Chapter 3 – **

_"Here I am"_

* * *

Kakashi narrowed his eye, the lone gray orb resembling thunderclouds.

They were early. _Too_ early.

He had hoped the two hooded figures were just bandits but as luck would have it, Daisuke Yashiro was out on the prowl, looking for more girls to kidnap. And this would have been fine and dandy and all, if he was given more time to teach Sakura a thing or two.

Oddly enough, he also felt relieved. But his heart went out to the innocent girl; how was she supposed to survive? Sakura was the epitome of a blushing virgin.

He inwardly winced as Tsunade's orders rang in his ears, _"Make sure Sakura isn't a virgin by the time you get to Iwa."_

A couple ideas flashed through his mind at lightning speed. The intellectual jounin quickly figured out the best course of action. The problem was it would involve a deep sacrifice.

_Her_ sacrifice.

But Sakura was an adaptable shinobi and they really didn't have another choice.

She would hate him for it, but…what other options did they have?

"Take her."

The words were out of his mouth before he realized what happened and he didn't register his thoughts. He blanked, cutting all emotion out of the picture. The silver-haired jounin withdrew his kunai, setting it down on his side. Sakura cast him a sharp look of alarm, but he didn't meet her gaze.

He _couldn't_.

Smiling brutishly, the large man with the red hair reached forward and grabbed Sakura's forearm roughly.

She screamed, fighting back, kicking and clawing but it had no effect on the man. Kakashi honestly couldn't tell if she was faking the act.

The man grunted, trying to keep control of the flailing girl and he grabbed both her arms, pinning it behind her back. Sakura slammed her heel back, hard, on his shin but it didn't faze him one bit. The guy was an absolute beast.

Finally tiring, Sakura slumped back, breathing hard. If only she could use her chakra…but that would mean blowing her cover. And they were too far for her to just screw up the mission.

Her pink locks were frazzled and in complete disarray, as if she had just woken up, her forest-green eyes were wide in shock and glimmered with something else…

Betrayal.

Hurt.

Anger.

She looked up through her bangs at Kakashi, her jade orbs pleading.

_Help me._

His idle eye glanced towards her but no emotion showed through. He had slipped his mask on—his mask as a shinobi, the flawless, unperceivable mask that every ninja sought after.

The mask of nothing.

Revealing nothing, showing nothing, betraying nothing.

How she wished to rip that mask off his face.

Her eyes flashed with anger, glaring into his soul. She felt so betrayed, deceived and _used_. The logical part of her mind assured her that Kakashi did this for a reason, that he had a back-up plan of some sort—that he hadn't just handed her over to the wolves.

But she knew better.

Kakashi would've let something slip; a reassuring smile or perhaps a gentle tap on the back, to let her know that it was all going to be okay.

The fact that he was wearing _that_ mask let her know that it was all up to her now.

She had to do this—_alone_.

Biting her lip harsh enough to draw blood, Sakura let her assailant bind her hands, hissing as tough corded rope dug into her skin. She refused to look at the jounin that she once trusted with her life.

She heard them talking in the background, Yashiro dropping a few coins into Kakashi's open palm. She felt a wave of disgust threaten to drown her.

That was all she was worth? A couple yen?

She gritted her teeth.

Her anger threatened to consume her. But she wasn't sure if she was angrier at the kidnappers or her teacher.

* * *

Kakashi trailed behind the group. His footsteps were silent shadows, his body agile and fast, his eye focused solely on Sakura as he leapt behind them like a dancer.

They moved at a fairly slow pace, probably because the tattooed man had Sakura slugged over his shoulders. They ran on the ground and Kakashi bounded from the treetops, disguising his chakra so that they wouldn't notice him.

He hoped that Sakura would though.

No matter how hard he tried to suppress it, he felt guilty. Yes, the great Kakashi Hatake, the porn-loving, moocher supreme, freeloader extraordinaire, felt _guilt_.

How the mighty have fallen.

He couldn't help but feel responsible for how the mission turned out. Of course, he knew logically that it was sheer luck that they managed to run into Yashiro, two days from Iwa, and he had no idea that Sakura was a virgin until she barged into his room a couple hours before the mission, but still, the guilt lingered, throbbing like a sword in his side, twisting slowly but surely inside of him, leaving him crippling from the pain.

The fact that Sakura was being completely manhandled and couldn't do a thing about it because that would fuck up the mission didn't really help his mood.

He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists; frustration threatened to take over but he pushed down his anger.

Hell, if the two sadistic bastards could see Sharingan Warrior right now, they would all but drop Sakura and run for their lives.

He looked absolutely _murderous_.

Even the birds were wise enough to steer clear of his path.

Again, he cursed himself for taking on the stupid mission.

Taking another leap from a branch, Kakashi stopped cold when he realized that the group below had halted at the side of a well-worn road. He furrowed his eyebrows; a horse-drawn carriage was parked at the edge of the forest, and the kidnappers and Sakura made their way over.

The Sharingan-user held his breath and listened intently.

"Taku!" Yashiro snapped, impatience lacing his voice, "Put her in there with the others!"

_Others…? So Yashiro had managed to capture more girls?_

Kakashi frowned. It seemed like the situation with Jack the Ripper was more dire than he had previously figured.

Then suddenly, a flash of movement caught his eye.

Sakura was thrashing wildly, snarling curses and threats, and even managed to whip a right hook on Taku's face (which had Kakashi brimming with pride) before the red-haired man grunted in pain and yanked her long hair back, throwing her on the ground.

Kakashi growled, glaring at the man.

Before she could recover, Taku wrenched her to her feet by her hair, and landed a painful blow to the back of her neck. Sakura slumped, her figure collapsing, and the red-haired man sneered in disgust before jerking the carriage door open and tossing Sakura inside, like she was nothing more than a mere ragdoll.

Kakashi was tense, his muscles like corded rope as he clutched the side of the tree, not even noticing the rough bark as it dug into his fingers.

It took every ounce of self-control he had, every fiber of his being, every minute of his training, to not leap out of his hiding spot and kill the disgusting human being on the spot.

He could only observe.

And it killed him.

More than he ever thought it possible.

* * *

Emerald eyes blinked slowly, a groan slipped past pink lips, and a pounding headache robbed the medic-nin of all thought. Sakura woke up groggily, her eyes shifting out of focus and she half-heartedly wondered why the world was swaying and shifting like turbulent waves.

Then she realized that it wasn't the planet's fault; _she_ was moving.

Eyes blinking open in surprise, Sakura sat up, startled, and awake. She took in her surroundings.

She was in a…_carriage_? It was a small box, but the smell of barnyard permeated the thin paper walls, and the rocking sensation was unmistakable—she was in a coach.

The pink-haired medic racked her mind for how the hell she had gotten there but the memories came flashing back much too quickly for her comfort.

_Oh_.

Realization dawned quickly on the kunoichi.

Flashes and pieces—Kakashi handing her over, the asshole throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and then the same bastard knocking her out and…

"Oh, look, Sleeping Beauty finally woke up." A curt voice snapped.

Sakura turned around quickly, startled.

There were two girls, sitting right across from her. The one who had spoken had long, luxurious lavender hair and analytical turquoise eyes that stared at her with an unspoken accusation. She was tall, taller than Sakura, but her long limbs were malnourished and she was very tiny, too skinny to be anywhere close to healthy.

"Oh Aiko, stop being so mean!"

Sakura turned her attention to the second girl.

She was petite, her black hair was cropped short and her blue eyes were like piercing shards of the sky. If Sakura thought the first girl was frail, this one was even more so. Her face was hollow, but the girl herself embodied sunshine. She vaguely reminded her of Naruto. She smiled prettily, her eyes flashed with genuine warmth as she peered at Sakura.

"Hi," she called, "I'm Hana and this rude lady," a sharp elbow was jabbed against the taller girl's ribs, resulting in a harsh hiss, "Is Aiko. Nice to meet you!"

Sakura blinked a couple times before remembering her manners and returning the very welcoming smile.

"Oh," the pink-haired girl said, "I'm Sakura."

Hana giggled and Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Sure, she probably looked like a disgusting rat, but it couldn't have been that bad, right?

As if sensing her thoughts, Hana prattled, waving her hand with assurance, "Oh, forgive me, but it's just that…" her blue eyes flashed to Sakura's pink locks before meeting her eyes, "Your name matches your hair."

Despite herself, Sakura found herself grinning.

"Yes, I suppose it does."

* * *

It was with that introduction that the three girls plunged into each other's stories.

Apparently, from their chattering, the two girls were sisters. Sakura had raised an eyebrow at that, but chose not to question it. After all, her own parents had brown and ebony hair but she had a fluffy head of cherry.

She was told that after being knocked unconscious by the tattooed man named Taku, she was thrown inside the carriage and had been sleeping for over a day.

Sakura wasn't surprised; she could sleep through Tsunade smashing her office desk to pieces.

Hana did most of the talking, with Aiko eventually warming up and piping in a few words at a time.

The girls had lost their family in a house fire; they had been the only two to survive. Hana blinked back tears as she recalled how much her parents meant to her. Though they were far from wealthy, they lived in comfort. But because of the fire, they lost everything they had and eventually found money in prostitution. Two years prior, Yashiro had found them in a rival club, and after some enticement, the girls found their way in Forced Into Love.

Apparently, Daisuke Yashiro wasn't the monster Sakura painted him to be.

"He isn't so bad," Hana supplied, "He feeds us, clothes us, and he lets us keep our tips."

_Like a dog_…Sakura thought, but kept it to herself, shifting her attention back on the two sisters.

The pink-haired medic was astounded to find that the two girls had run away from Yashiro. They had spoken quite well of him, more than she thought he deserved.

"You see," Hana explained nervously, twiddling her thumbs in a fidgety movement, "A lot of our girls have been disappearing lately. There was Ayame, Kikio, and even Saga-chan!"

Aiko's teal gaze darkened. "They were found a couple of weeks ago, in a dumpster; their intestines were ripped out…" She paused, "They were tortured." Her sea-green eyes were clouded with anger and tinged with sadness.

Sakura felt her heart ache for the girls. They obviously had strong bonds with the other dancers in the club, but it couldn't have made them fear that much to run away…everybody knew that being a prostitute was a dangerous lifestyle.

Aiko's eyes flashed, "It's the same, every time," she insisted, "They're always found in places that are obvious, always disemboweled and tortured. And it's happening in the other clubs too. Yashiro is beside himself and he has to keep panic from spreading."

Hana frowned, which was a very weird expression for the usually vibrant girl to wear, "We didn't want it to happen to us," she said guiltily, "So we ran."

Sakura didn't blame them. She would've probably done the same thing.

The black-haired girl shifted slightly, her sky-blue eyes drowning in remorse. "Yashiro-sama was very lenient when he found us," she spoke softly, like a child forgiven; "I think he just wanted us back."

Sakura nodded—these girls had definitely been brainwashed.

Hana offered an apologetic smile, "Sorry about getting you kidnapped too, Sakura-chan. We didn't think there would be anybody all the way out here, but it seems like Yashiro-sama caught you, neh?"

Startled, the pink-haired medic found herself consoling the girl, "Oh no, it isn't your fault. I was getting shipped off anyway, by a Konoha nin." She laughed sheepishly.

Curiosity aroused, Aiko turned and looked at Sakura sharply.

"A Konoha _nin_?"

Shit.

Thinking quickly, Sakura came up with a lie about how her parents had died when she was young and then all of a sudden, she was whisked away by some relatives from Konoha. This included a couple tears and heartfelt stutters of course, and she ended the tale with her running away from said relatives and the missing-nin capturing her, intent on selling her into slavery, when she ran into Yashiro and his minion, Taku.

Before she knew it, Sakura was being squeezed into an immensely tight vice-grip, courtesy of Hana who was hugging her and bawling with tear-filled eyes.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow, but quickly shifted her face into a sad smile.

Her lying prowess would've made Kakashi proud.

She frowned slightly.

Not that he made any real effort when he was late; but at any chance at escaping the bill, the man could tell you your parents were penguins and you'd believe it.

She found herself sighing at the thought of her ex-sensei and shook her head with a frown, slightly puzzled with herself. Why was she sighing? She shouldn't be surprised; Kakashi-sensei was Kakashi-sensei. Of course he would try to escape having to pay for Naruto's ramen at any cost; heck, she would too!

All too soon, however, the carriage suddenly jerked to a stop, causing all the girls to lurch forward with yelps of shock.

Sakura narrowed her eyes.

They had arrived.

* * *

Grey eyes drank in the scene, analyzing the details. They lightened, like storm clouds fading away in anticipation of the sun—or in his case, an opening.

Kakashi swiftly jumped down from his perch on the tree as they reached the gates of Iwa. Yashiro was discussing something with the guard and Taku seemed to be preoccupied with keeping the horse, a wild thing, still.

It was the perfect opportunity.

Kakashi dashed across the ground, silent and as lithe as a tiger, before sliding behind the carriage. Crouching low, he was a predator about to pounce, his legs tense and ready to leap back into the forest at any moment's notice. He slid easily under the coach, pulling himself up to the bottom of it, and hooking his feet on the axel of the wheels, he grabbed the wood with long fingers.

The carriage started moving again.

Unbeknownst to all except a pink-haired girl, Kakashi Hatake was sneaking into Iwa, latched onto the bottom of a carriage.

* * *

Before she heard the slight creaking of the carriage, or the barely-noticeable weight shift below her feet, she felt him.

Sakura immediately sat up straighter when she felt his presence.

Having always been adept at chakra control, Sakura could easily feel his move from the forest behind them to the carriage below, even if he was masking it almost perfectly.

She guffawed inwardly.

_It must smell down there,_ she thought and she found herself wishing the horse would answer nature's call on his face.

Then maybe she'd get a peek at his face.

The coach started moving again, with the horse braying, as if displeased with the additional weight. Nobody else noticed the extra load but Sakura and she had to give it to Kakashi. He was the very _definition_ of a ninja.

She was glad, as they entered Iwa, that she could feel his chakra, although it was dimmed vastly. His chakra was simply _his_. There was no other way to describe it. It was like an underwater fire. Cool and smooth at first, but then burning with an insurmountable fire.

It comforted her, to know that he was there, that he was so close.

Sakura was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the carriage slow to a stop and Aiko murmur, "We're here."

* * *

The sunlight was harsh after hours of traveling in the carriage and sensitive jade eyes squinted, a pale arm raised to block the rays, barely able to see her surroundings.

She was outside of a large building; it seemed to be at least three stories. The outside was tinted black, it seemed even with the Byakugan it would be impossible to look through the darkened glass, but the gaudy hot-pink sign posted above the building left no room for argument about the structure's identity.

**_Forced Into Love_**

_Gentlemen's Club_

The sign flashed with neon brightness, some letters flickering slightly. Sakura scoffed inwardly—Gentlemen's Club? Did the authorities in Iwa know that it was a prostitution ring? She huffed; in Konoha, there was no such place that promoted women to sell their bodies. Sure, they had strip clubs and escorts, but not desperate women kidnapped to please some strangers.

She found herself sick to her stomach.

_She_ was one of those women.

But a tug on her arm reminded her that she was on a mission, and so forcing out a tight smile at Hana, who was dragging her into the building, Sakura walked in.

* * *

**So, because of all the reviews asking/threatening bodily harm, I will be continuing this story(: You guys are wonderful!**

**Sorry about the shortness of the chapter and lack of KakaSaku (we will get there eventually)…**

**Also, I have a question for your guys…**

**_What should Sakura's stripper outfit be?_**

**Leave a comment and I'll choose the best one and—hopefully—it'll be in the next chapter!**

**Thanks for all the support and love and other stuff you guys have poured into this story!**

**-hitherelovely**


	4. Bad Boy

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, I swear! Nor do I own the cover photo!**

**Warning: This story has mature content**

**Thanks so much to my super-amazing-awesome beta, Bree Avalon! Seriously, she is amazing and she's an brilliant writer; you guys should go check her stuff out!**

**And I decided to go with blaircow's idea for Sakura's outfit; there were really good ones, but I really liked this one!**

**_~s.e.n.s.e.i~_**

**Sensei © hitherelovely**

**Naruto © Misashi Kishimoto**

**Chapter 4– **

_"Bad Boy"_

* * *

Winter-green eyes blinked a few times, rapidly, trying to accustom themselves to the sudden darkness that had enveloped them.

Sakura stood still, slowly letting herself adjust to the dim lighting inside the club.

When her eyes did get used to the darkness of the room, however, they were magnified to the size of dinner plates and she let out an audible gasp.

Her jaw fell slack.

Long, dark lashes fluttered against ivory skin as Sakura took in her surroundings, her eyes a forest green as they drank in the view.

She was in an immense rectangular room, with rich velvet walls and delicate gold tracings that accented the burgundy theme. The grandeur of the place made her feel incredibly miniscule in comparison. There were numerous—uncountable—rows of dark wooden tables and chairs, and a large bar in the middle of it all. But what really made her a little nauseous was the _stage_.

It was in the front of the room, even with the club being closed, there were glaring spot-lights on it. Five enormous platforms, four surrounding the largest one in the middle, all equipped with sleek golden poles.

Sakura blanched, all trace of color fleeing from her cheeks; her pallid face a stark contrast to her pink hair.

She was supposed to…in front of just…_how_ many people…?

Oh, she could imagine the boos and tomato-throwing now.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

Turning around slowly, Sakura forced a half-hearted smile onto her face. Hana looked puzzled, staring at the medic-nin with concern clearly visible on her face.

"I'm fine, really," Sakura chirped, happiness strained into each word, "It's just a bit…overwhelming, I guess."

Hana giggled and wrapped an arm around Sakura's shoulders.

"Oh, you'll get used to it in no time, I promise! Come on, let me show you around," the blue-eyed girl said excitedly, her eyes lighting up like a child at a candy store.

Sakura let herself be dragged by the smaller girl, to the back of the club, up a flight of stairs and down a hallway, her mind working fiercely to memorize the routes.

No doubt Kakashi would expect a detailed map of the entire place.

* * *

Sakura was given an explicit tour of _Forced into Love_. There was the kitchen, backstage, and a lounging area for the girls. Hana chatted away enthusiastically about everything, pointing out the best books that were scattered on a simple shelf, warning her away from the expired milk, and other useful information that Sakura stored in the back of her mind.

Then Hana lead the pink-haired girl up a second flight of stairs, by the lounging room.

"We used to share rooms," the black-haired girl explained, "But with all the…circumstances lately, a lot of the girls left and well, there's a lot more room now, so we each have our own."

Sakura nodded, trailing a little behind her overly enthusiastic tour guide.

Walking down a hallway, Hana pointed out her room, Aiko's, and a few other girls'.

Hana's room was small, with pastel colors that matched her zealous personality. Aiko's was plain and pink, and the other girls all had their doors firmly locked and shut. Hana assured her that she would meet all the other girls at the show later, but clarified that she shouldn't look forward to it.

"As a rule," the more experienced girl advised, "We tend to keep to ourselves," she flashed Sakura a toothy grin, "Most of the girls here are total bitches anyways."

Finally reaching the end of the hall, Aiko peeled open the door with a sing-song announcement, "And here's _your_ room!"

The first thing Sakura noticed was how small the room was—barely enough room for the tiny cot tucked in the corner by the window and a chest of drawers opposite the bed. The bed was white, with a thin quilt and a plush pillow. It was simple, and more importantly, it had a window; reaching Kakashi would be easier that way.

Smiling brightly, Sakura assured her devoted sightseeing attendant that it was "simply wonderful" and they continued on.

* * *

Hana was exhausting, to say the least, with the bubbliness that dared to rival Naruto's. Sakura found herself more often than not drifting off into her own thoughts as the petite dancer prattled away about anything and everything.

But unlike the blonde kyuubi, Hana could read others easily.

And the blue-eyed girl noticed how starkly pale Sakura got whenever they neared the stage.

"Sakura-chan," she said patiently, wrapping an arm around the taller girl's frame, "You've never…done anything like this before, have you?"

Blinking rapidly, Sakura looked to the ground sheepishly.

"No…not really," she murmured, twisting a lock of her hair. Great, even innocent little Hana knew her way around a pole but she couldn't even glance at the platform without looking like a ghost.

Hana just smiled prettily, "Come on," she chirped, grabbing Sakura's hand, "I'll teach you!"

* * *

After recruiting a less than willing Aiko, Hana led them both to the stage via a back entrance.

Pushing an unsteady Sakura towards one of the poles, Hana stood in front of her while the lavender-haired girl perched across them on one of the other rods. Sakura instinctively recoiled, squinting her eyes as the blasting stage lights assaulted her sensitive jade orbs.

_Seriously, how do they not go blind up here? _Sakura wondered with shock.

Hana tossed her short spunky hair over her shoulder and peered straight at Sakura, her blue eyes boring into her soul as she placed her small hands on her hips, resembling a drill sergeant.

"Now," Hana announced, "The key to stripping is just to be _confident_."

As if taking her cue, Aiko wrapped a long, slim leg around her own pole and did an easy twirl, though she looked like a Greek Goddess, even though she was just spinning, her turquoise eyes full of pride and her full pink lips pulled into a pout.

"It's really simple," the taller girl illuminated with a detached air, "Just imagine that everybody out there are peasants and you're the Queen of the universe."

Sakura arched an eyebrow.

_Easy for you to say_, she seethed, looking at the gorgeous dancer. Hana and Aiko were both beautiful in their own rights. Though she was short, Hana emitted sunshine and despite the fact that she was shorter than Sakura, she was well-endowed in other areas that the kunoichi lacked. Aiko had long, exotic lavender hair and her long limbs seemed to stretch for miles.

Next to them, Sakura thought herself to be plain. She was not sexy in the least. She was flat-chested and her thighs were larger than she would've liked. She also had no idea how to make herself attractive, no idea how to look like a porn star, the way Aiko and even little Hana did.

The black-haired girl gestured to Sakura, "You try now, Sakura-chan. Just smirk, smile, and do a little turn. All you have to do is _look_ like you know what you're doing, even if you don't," she advised.

Taking a deep breath and tugging down the end of her impossibly short yukata, Sakura nodded. Grasping the pole with sweaty palms, she forced a (what she thought was sexy) grin on her face, and wrapped a foot around the pole, pulling herself around and…

Landing flat on her face.

"Oomph!"

She didn't need to be a ninja to know that Aiko was sneering with cruel amusement and sweet little Hana, thankfully, was trying to smother her own giggles.

After calming down, Hana offered an apologetic smile and said, "Oh sorry, Sakura-chan, I forgot to mention. Always keep one foot on the ground when you twirl. It's easy to get your feet mixed up."

Clambering slowly back up, the medic-nin forced a smile on her face and resisted the urge to heal her bruised bottom.

She clutched the pole and tried again.

* * *

A dark eye watched the scene unfold before him in wry amusement.

Sakura was struggling back to her feet and the silver-haired man chuckled darkly as he heard her mutter a low curse.

He was sitting in a corner of the room, masking his chakra and hidden from view by looming shadows. He blended in the darkness perfectly and he was currently enjoying his entertainment with a curved eye and a smile toying on his lips.

After arriving at the club, Kakashi scoped the area and noted that Yashiro and Taku had immediately disappeared to Yashiro's office (which was underground, a story below the actual club) whereas the rest of the girls were set loose.

Kakashi assumed that Yashiro trusted his girls enough to not run away again.

Which was a little weird.

After some digging around (security was seriously lacking) the jounin found out that they currently had seven girls, including Sakura, at the club.

Aiko and Hana, who were instructing the clumsy girl on the stage, seemed fairly decent—he made a mental note to tell Sakura to beware, however, just in case. Most of the other girls were normal, some who were desperate and ended up in the club.

Others, however, _chose_ the life of a stripper.

One of these girls was actually the co-founder of _Forced into Love_; why someone would want to be sexualized as an item for a bunch of rowdy animalistic men, Kakashi could not figure out.

But then he rifled through some files he found in Yashiro's office.

How much money each girl brought in.

Aiko and Hana raked in a fairly good amount, with another girl by the name of Ayame who could bring in enough money that an A-ranked mission paid—in a single night.

One girl, however, rose above and beyond.

Megumi Yashiro.

Co-founder and _sister_ of Daisuke Yashiro.

The main stage was designed specifically for her; none of the other girls were permitted to even be a part of it. She brought in the most money, 25% of the club's dividends- and with one look at her picture, Kakashi knew why.

She was gorgeous, with long sea-green hair that ran down her back like waves crashing against her sandy skin. She was tall too, according to her file, just a couple inches shorter than his lofty stature at her 5 foot 8.

He instantly identified her as the number one target.

Jack the Ripper had an M.O. that matched hers to a T. He targeted popular strippers, none that had any family or friends that would care, but high-profile dancers whose deaths and disappearances would scare other girls into running away and ruin clubs.

Quickly scanning the papers with his Sharingan and thus memorizing them, Kakashi knew that Sakura would have to befriend the girl and be her bodyguard—and eventually catch the murderer, of course.

With a sigh, he rested his head on his hand and turned his attention back to the platforms, his mind analyzing what move to make next with a bored expression planted on his face.

What met his sight made his grey orb darken like ominous storm clouds and his breath catch in his throat.

Just what the _hell_ was Sakura doing?

* * *

"Um…am I doing this right?" Sakura wondered aloud.

A raunchy catcall from Hana alerted her that she probably was.

With her thighs wrapped around the top of the pole and her body snaked around the middle, Sakura was completely vertical, her long pink locks pooling around her like a waterfall, a couple strands skimming the floor. Her green yukata threatened to flash the world, but thankfully, Sakura had tied it tight enough so that it barely fell past the top of her thighs.

If anybody besides her two new-found teachers saw her, however, she knew she would never live it down.

Panting heavily, Sakura slid down the pole with the grace of a seasoned kunoichi and she stepped onto her feet lithely, leaning against the pole for support.

She really was out of shape; working so many shifts at the hospital and avoiding the mission room really screwed her over, but despite this, Sakura beamed for the first time in days, proud that she was able to perform the move on the first attempt after Aiko demonstrated.

Hana was on her in an instant.

"How'd you do that?" The petite girl crowed, smiling at the pink-haired kunoichi.

Smiling sheepishly, Sakura replied, "Well, I used to um…do gymnastics when I was younger so it was easier I suppose…"

Even the icy air of Aiko seemed to melt a bit as she had a surprised expression on her face.

"Hn, you keep this up and you'll be taking Megumi's spot any day." The lanky girl surmised, crossing her arms over her chest, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

Sakura blinked, her brows furrowing in confusion.

"Megumi?"

* * *

"Sakura-chan, you've had a long day, you should go back to your room and get settled in, k?"

Quickly embracing the taller girl, Hana said her goodbyes, along with a promise of "I'll get you a bit before the show starts!" and then she and Aiko disappeared behind a corridor like magic.

Which left Sakura absolutely flabbergasted.

As she crept back into her room, Sakura closed the door with a defeated sigh, slumping against the wooden frame with her forehead.

Before the show starts? Was she expected to dance _tonight_?

She snorted; her…dance? The mere thought of it was hilarious. No doubt even Sasuke, with the ten-yard stick shoved up his ass, would burst into a fit of giggles.

She couldn't _dance_.

That was the problem; she had no sense of rhythm and she shuddered at the thought of grinding her hips against _anything_—much less the cold pole.

Sure, the lesson with Hana and Aiko had helped but every time she touched the icy cold pole, she would flinch and have to ease her way back on. And after doing the little trick Aiko taught her, they had tried to dance with some soft music, but Sakura failed…miserably.

While Hana was grinding, kicking, and throwing her head back like the most experienced porn star, Sakura was gawkily nudging the pole and awkwardly swaying her hips back and forth.

How was she supposed to seduce somebody when she couldn't dance or do anything even _slightly_ attractive?

Sinking deeper into her despair, Sakura dug her fingers into her thick pink hair. She really was in over her head this time, she realized, but it was definitely too far to back out now. The practice with Aiko and Hana went alright, she supposed. She learned how to be less stiff and with her ninja training, maneuvering up and down the pole came with ease. Maybe if she just twirled around the pole in a scandalous outfit, she would blend right in!

Yeah right.

Recalling a time when Sasuke turned eighteen and Naruto dragged him off to a strip club, with her in tow; Sakura knew that just _spinning_ around a pole was not going to cut it.

She winced.

Those girls had certainly been flexible.

Still trapped in her thoughts, Sakura didn't notice the slight breeze that filtered into her room. She also wasn't aware of the fact that her window was cracked.

Or that she wasn't alone.

"Hm, I don't suppose you know where the bathroom is?" A deep masculine voice cut through her thoughts like a lighthouse through fog.

Whirling around, Sakura's eyes blinked at the familiar figure.

Kakashi Hatake smirked, "I _do_ believe I got lost on the road of life."

* * *

Unable to fight off the smile on her face, Sakura muttered dryly, "You're _late_, Kakashi-sensei."

She wouldn't tell him, but the pink-haired girl was elated for some unknown reason. His mere presence assured her; he calmed her frantic nerves, he brought her back from the edge of the cliff, he was her eye in the middle of the raging storm—he was simply _Kakashi_. What with Naruto and Sasuke running off to learn from Sannin, he was the only certain constant in her life; the only one she could really rely on.

His eye curled up in his trademark smile, and he leaned against the side of the window, his hair ruffled, no doubt from scaling the side of the building.

"Yo."

An arched eyebrow.

"You're much later than usual, sensei."

A sheepish flicker across a lone grey orb.

"My apologies, Sakura-chan, I got…"

"Lost on the road of life?"

He rubbed the nape of his neck guiltily.

"Something like that."

* * *

Kakashi knew relief when he saw it.

The second she heard his voice, his keen eye noticed the visible relaxation in her rigid shoulders, her wide eyes softening, and a sigh no louder than the softest whisper that blew past her lips.

She was relieved—happy even, dare he presume—that he was there.

He was slightly smug that she was glad to see him, and the fact alone shocked him. He didn't feel joy or pride easily and the mere notion that Sakura was _reassured_ to see him sent his mind reeling and his heart racing.

Not that he would ever admit that though.

"So Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, still leaning against the back of the door, "What's the plan?"

He shrugged, slouched against the window pane, "It's pretty simple. We kill Jack the Ripper."

The Copy-Nin sniggered as Sakura rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean _the plan_," she insisted, "Like what to do and stuff."

"I just told you the plan."

"In more detail, please."

"There's no need for more details, Sakura-chan. It's pretty straightforward." He looked offended, "I thought I taught you better than this."

"Argh! _Kakashi-sensei!_"

He chuckled again, a deep rumbling from his chest. Walking over next to her, he crouched down beside the fuming—and slightly embarrassed—kunoichi and ruffled her pink locks, which resulted in a hiss of disapproval.

Finally relenting, he said, "The plan is quite detailed but…"

"First things first," he murmured, and before Sakura had a chance to even blink, Kakashi tugged his mask down and pulled her into his arms.

And he crushed his lips against hers.

* * *

**Don't kill me please!**

**Please review and here's today's question/thought:**

**_If you could choose anybody, who would you bring back to life from Naruto and why?_**

**Please tell me your thoughts, I like reading them!**

**-hitherelovely**


	5. Alright

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, I swear! Nor do I own the cover photo!**

**Warning: This story has mature content**

**Thanks so much to my super-amazing-awesome beta, Bree Avalon! **

**Oh and…****_27_**** REVIEWS? I LOVE YOU GUYS! **

**And the overwhelming majority said that they wanted Jiraya to come back to life, and I have to agree. That pervert was quite awesome and I've always rooted for him and Tsunade. There were a couple who said they wanted Itachi to come back to life and some said Kakashi…Kakashi doesn't die does he? Do you guys know something I don't…?**

**I need to know so I can start panicking, but without further ado, CHAPTER 5!**

**_~s.e.n.s.e.i~_**

**Sensei © hitherelovely**

**Naruto © Misashi Kishimoto**

**Chapter 5– **

_"Alright"_

Sakura blinked rapidly, her eyes wide open as soft but firm lips claimed hers. She stood there for a few moments in shock as Kakashi smirked into the kiss, amused at her baffled reaction.

_What the hell is going on?_ She thought, panic flooding through her veins, _Kakashi-sensei's…__**kissing**__ me!_

Her brain finally working the moment she realized that, she started resisting, struggling to break away, but while she was in shock, Kakashi had cleverly snaked his arms around her waist and he was as unrelenting as a statue.

She placed her hands firmly against his chest, a flush rising to her cheeks, and shoved—hard. He made a small sound of protest but she couldn't budge him whatsoever and she smacked his arm in irritation.

Stupid bastard.

She could feel the grin in his lips and the urge to punch him through the wall was overwhelming.

That urge skyrocketed when he pinched her butt.

Gasping in surprise, Sakura both blushed and saw red, but the silver-haired jounin wasted no time, slipping his tongue past his mouth in her vulnerable state and overwhelming her.

At that moment, her brain effectively decided to shut down.

Jade eyes widened before fluttering to a close as Kakashi gripped her chin; deepening the kiss and making imaginary fireworks explode in her mind.

"Nngh…s-stop…!" She mumbled between breaths.

Kakashi chuckled at her weak and dying protests.

His hands started drifting from their position on her waist, slowly meandering upwards, but she was too occupied by his mouth to notice.

Only when his fingers trail past her neck did she snap out of her haze.

Jerking her head and effectively breaking the kiss, Sakura gathered a pinch of chakra into her arms and broke out of his hold, all the while blushing like a virgin—excuse the pun—and gasping for air.

Instantly, she whirled on him.

"Damn you! What the _fuck_ were you thinking, huh? We're on a mission, Kakashi—"

Her breath caught in her throat instantly as her eyes traveled up to his face.

His exposed, _mask-less_, face.

The first thing she noticed was his eyes. He had forgone the headband and his silver tresses were mussed up like he had just rolled out of bed, but still managed to defy gravity all the same. His bangs drooped over his mismatched eyes, but for the first time, her gaze didn't go directly to the red sharingan orb. No, they drifted to his stormy grey eye and she blinked; she had always thought that his eye was an emotionless coal black, but upon further inspection, that wasn't the case. His eye reflected rumbling thunder clouds that lightened when he was at ease, like blue sky breaking after rain, and darkened to an almost pitch black when he was in a turbulent battle with his emotions.

Her gaze drifted down slowly and she unconsciously licked her lips in anticipation.

She was the first of her teammates to see Kakashi-sensei's face. Her, _Sakura_, not the Uchiha-genius, or the next-in-line Hokage, but her, the weak one, the one that was always just a step behind. She almost laughed—she could imagine Naruto shrieking in jealousy and Sasuke's "Hn…" of envy now.

Sakura blinked at her sensei as she took in his face for the first time, astounded that he didn't seem to have scars or acne problems like she had predicted.

He had high aristocratic cheekbones that made him appear like a king or more accurately, a knight, which she figured fit him much better. His nose was straight, which slightly surprised her, as many ninja had their noses broken at least a dozen times throughout their careers. She smirked, _probably because no one is good enough to be able to punch his pretty little face_.

He had thin lips that were flushed, no doubt from their…previous endeavors and Sakura felt the familiar heat rising to her cheeks at that thought.

_He's gorgeous…_Sakura thought in awe, _beautiful even._

Her eyes raked over Kakashi's face, trying to memorize every detail before he yanked up his mask and hid his striking looks from prying eyes.

"Like what you see?"

His words snapped her from her blatant admiration and she scowled darkly.

"No…just checking to see if you had buck teeth or not." She shot back.

He smirked, "I think you know _quite_ well that I do not have bucked teeth."

Her eyes widened and she looked off to the side, cursing her cheeks for turning scarlet.

_Damn him_, she swore bitterly.

He laughed lightly.

"Don't worry Sakura, I'm not going to wear my mask for the remainder of this mission."

She looked at him in shock, eyebrows hitting her hairline.

"W-_what_?"

Oh, so all those years Team Seven spent trying to peek at his face were for nothing? All they had to do was sneak into an illegal club and he would willingly expose his mug for the world to see?

He smiled his curled-eye smile at her and Sakura frowned; it looked…strange without three-fourths of his face covered.

"I wouldn't want Yashiro recognizing me," he chirped happily and again, the medic-nin resisted the devastating urge to punch him in the face.

"You need a transformation jutsu or something, idiot," she snapped, "Of course he's going to recognize you! Have you _seen_ your hair?"

The jounin blinked innocently at her.

"_My_ hair?" He cried, dramatically stabbing a finger at her own head, "Have _you_ looked in a mirror?"

Growling, she wrenched his hand out of the air.

"Mine is _exotic_; yours is creepy as fuck." She clarified, narrowing her darkening eyes at him in distaste.

He gasped, "Creepy?"

"Yes, you're what, thirty? It makes you look like you should be strapped to a wheelchair in a nursing home somewhere."

He sniffed, ego obviously bruised.

"I'm actually twenty-nine, thank you very much."

"You've been twenty-nine for the past two years, sensei." She pointed out, arching a brow at his reluctance to age.

"…Details," he grumbled, pouting.

Sakura laughed; the great Sharingan warrior was pouting! Of course, she had suspected it before, like when Tsunade banned him for Icha Icha one time as punishment, but with the mask off, it was clearly shown.

He frowned and asked, "What's so funny?"

Stifling her giggles, she shook her head, "Nothing, nothing at all!"

He growled and Sakura inwardly gave herself a high-five for managing to push his buttons.

A sudden knock on the door knocked both ninjas out of their conversation. Kakashi was immediately on edge, diving to the side of the bed where he would be unnoticeable from the door.

"Sakura-chan?" Hana's bright voice asked, before she tapped the door impatiently a few more times. Sakura responded, "Yes, I'm here, Hana." A smile quirked at the corner of her lips—Hana was like a Naruto in female form; both so anxious.

Walking over to the door, Sakura pulled it open, blinking in surprise at the darkness in the hallway. When had it gotten so late?

"It's almost time to start," the petite girl said excitedly before grabbing Sakura's hand, "C'mon, I'll show you!"

Ignoring Sakura's protests, Hana, showing some incredible strength for someone so small, effectively dragged Sakura down the hall, leaving an incredulous Kakashi watching from behind the bed.

Sakura blinked as the scene assaulted her.

Hana had taken her upstairs behind the stage, and if she thought that the dressing room was small before, it looked absolutely minuscule now.

Five girls, not including them, were all stationed at different vanities in the room, applying makeup, curling hair, and spraying so much perfume it caused Sakura's nose to sting and her eyes to water.

"Can someone hand me a mascara?" A girl with dazzling violet eyes asked, lashes batting prettily.

A tall girl with a mane of sea-green hair snorted, "Ugh, Yuki, go to hell."

"No one asked for your opinion, Kai; now does anybody have any extra mascara?" Yuki snarled, glaring at the girl.

Brown eyes rolled and a slender woman sighed in exasperation, as if she had seen this many times before.

"Here, Yuki. Make sure you give it back."

Attitude instantly forgotten, Yuki beamed.

"Hai, hai, Megumi."

The scene was made even stranger because all the girls were half-naked. They were all wearing different ensembles—portraying different _people_.

The one (named Yuki) who was needing mascara was wearing a nurse uniform, although half of it was purposely missing. The other girl, with the flashing red eyes, named Kai was wearing straps of leather that barely covered the necessities—to make it worse, she had a thick whip that was wrapped around her wrist.

Even though she was female, Sakura couldn't help ogling and the flame that rose on her cheeks.

This was…_insane_!

One look at the girl in leather made Sakura want to run far, far away and join a nunnery—complete with the chastity belt.

Suddenly, one of the girls turned towards the pink-haired girl and her shorter companion.

Sakura realized that this was the one named Megumi.

"Hana," she snapped, narrowing her eyes, "What do you think you're doing? You're on first with Aiko."

The blue-eyed girl let out a confused "Hmm?" before realization dawned on her. Throwing an apologetic smile in Sakura's direction, Hana scurried past the row of mirrors and into a back closet.

The girl then crept her scrutinizing gaze towards Sakura.

"You there, you're new right?"

A quick nod.

The girl arched an eyebrow, obviously scoffing at Sakura's meager yukata and her worn face. The prideful kunoichi instantly felt her anger boil to the surface, but shoved it back down. It would do no good to be on bad terms with the head honcho.

"What's your name, girl?"

"Sakura." The reply was curt.

"Well, I'm Megumi, I'm the boss here. Don't cause any trouble and we'll treat you just fine," a pause, "And since it's your first night here, just watch how we do things. Carefully. Since you'll be doing the same thing tomorrow," she announced before turning back to the mirror and applying a heavy layer of gloss onto her full lips.

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the blatant display of vanity, Sakura instead opted to listen to her advice.

She turned around and looked at all the girls who were currently occupied with their faces and hair. She wondered if she should go talk to them but then remembered Hana saying something about how they didn't get along.

And then of course, the sneering between Yuki and Kai.

She pursed her lips, it seems her mission was getting more difficult with every passing second.

"Well," she muttered, "Have to start somewhere."

With possibly the fakest grin she had ever planted on her face, Sakura walked over to the crowd of girls.

_Oh, that girl looks…nice enough, _she thought, glancing at a stripper with wavy short brown hair.

Waving nervously at her, Sakura smiled her "Don't worry, I'm a doctor" smile, which usually set people at ease. The brown haired girl, dressed as a dark Lolita blushed furiously and managed a shy nod in return.

_Definitely a Hinata_, the pink-haired medic mused.

"Hi, I'm Sakura. I'm new here so could you show me how everything goes?" She chirped kindly.

Shockingly bright blue eyes flickering to the floor while small hands tugged on her hair, the girl stuttered, "H-hi. I'm Ayame, n-nice to meet you. I'll um, I'll be glad to teach you some er, stuff. Just f-follow me around, I-I guess—eh, only if you want to though! Y-you don't really have to…" She trailed off towards the end, but Sakura still managed a forced grin.

_How the hell is she supposed to strip if she can't say a sentence without falling over? _Sakura wondered, completely flabbergasted.

From Ayame, Sakura learned that they put on massive amounts of makeup, and that everybody had a theme of sorts.

What she deciphered from the stuttering was that Ayame was the dark, gothic kind of dancer, with the vampy look and all (she had commented that some of the…_stranger_ men had requested that she suck their blood, to which she disagreed and promptly fainted). Yuki usually went with the whole nurse or doctor theme and carried a vibrating stethoscope—Sakura noticed a thin trail of blood flowing down Ayame's nose when she said this—and Kai portrayed the dominatrix edge of the group with her ensemble of chains and whips.

"Um, Sakura-chan, you're going to have to choose a theme for yourself too."

Sakura turned and looked at the girl in mild surprise.

"Me? I thought Megumi was in charge of that."

Ayame shook her head and Sakura sighed.

_A theme huh?_ She snickered, _maybe I should get Kakashi-sensei to do it for me, he is a pervert down to the very core of his being_.

At that moment, Aiko and Hana strode in the room and Sakura's eyebrows shot to her hairline, not even recognizing them.

Hana was wearing an Alice in Wonderland costume, with the whole fluffy apron and striped blue socks thing—she was even wearing a curly blonde wig. Aiko on the other hand, had her hair pulled back with a giant top-hat and a purple tailcoat, the top part of her blouse unbuttoned scandalously; she could only be the female portrayal of the Mad Hatter.

"Sakura-chan!" Hana squealed before launching herself at the poor girl, nearly knocking her over if it wasn't for her years of ninja training.

"Oof! Hi Hana." She managed before setting the overly excited girl down on her feet.

"You'll watch us, right Sakura-chan? Cause we're on first, center stage!" She exclaimed dramatically, waving her arms around like some theater lunatic.

The pink-haired girl nodded her head obediently and this seemed to sate the now-blonde girl.

Sakura threw a questioning glance at Ayame before hearing Megumi yell at Hana for breaking something in the background.

"Oh, well, um only t-three people are allowed to change their themes and dance on the center stage," Ayame explained, fidgeting with her fingers, "Hana and Aiko are kind of like a pair of sorts..." she paused, her face resembling a fire-truck, "A _yuri_ pair. That's why they're so popular and why they're allowed to change themes. Sometimes they're Batman and Robin, or Edward and Bella."

_What the hell is an Edward and Bella?_

But Sakura kept her thoughts to herself.

"Wait—you said three."

Ayame looked confused for a split second before emitting a soft "Oh."

"Since Megumi is the boss here, she gets to do whatever she wants. She's also the b-best dancer here and a big attraction so…" the shy girl trailed off in a mumble of blushes and stutters, but Sakura figured that it was enough.

It would explain why Yashiro went to all that trouble to track back Hana and Aiko, since they brought so much income for the club.

Her mind worked furiously as she pondered this new information.

_Who could be the potential victim?_ She wondered idly, recalling the preference of the serial killer, _he likes big stars, but no one with any real familial ties…_

She narrowed her eyes.

Hana or Aiko possibly? What about Megumi? She has a brother though…

_There's no way to guarantee that he knows Yashiro is Megumi's brother, so it's better to keep an eye on her as well, _she figured.

The killer obviously was highly trained, of course, a missing-nin probably. How else would he be able to take down a few of the Tsuchikage's best? It was only because the leader of Iwa didn't want to risk any more of his kunoichi that Konoha's aid was asked for.

There were no clues, not even any intelligence that the Tsuchikage was able to obtain from his spies until they were silenced.

Sakura blanched, comprehension hitting her like a freight train thundering down a railroad at a hundred miles an hour—_there _has_ to be another victim_, she realized.

_Or else we'll never catch Jack the Ripper._

She needed another casualty—that was the only way to find evidences, hints, anything, about the murderer.

Sakura suddenly felt sick to her stomach.

Yes, it was true, most of the girls here were total bitches, but the fact was, there were a few who weren't.

Hana, with her cheerful nature and mild temperate, being cut into pieces? Or Aiko, her turquoise eyes dancing with unconcealed amusement as she taught the clumsy kunoichi how to twirl, being mutilated?

And what about shy little Ayame who stuttered and blushed at every little thing?

What if something happened to _her_?

Sakura felt a pang of worry and hated herself for it.

_Shinobi are not supposed to feel anything_, a voice in her head spat, _you got attached too easily, like you _always_ do._

She needed a sacrifice. But who would do?

A sharp authoritative voice cut her off abruptly.

"Alright ladies," Megumi said loudly, clapping her hands until all talking had ceased, "Go out there and _make them want you_!"

The girls murmured in confirmation, and Sakura blinked, instantly transported back into her persona and desperately needing to relay information the newly acquired information to Kakashi.

"Let's go, Sakura-chan."

Sakura blinked, as if someone had slapped her, knocking her out of her thoughts completely.

Ayame smiled at her, taking her hand and leading her towards the stage, where she could already see Aiko and Hana walking steadily towards the two poles.

"It's show time."

**I know it's a boring chapter, but the story really needed to be set up!**

**Um…it may be a while before you see me again, because school has just started, but a review every now and then will remind me(;**

**THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!**

**And for today's thought...**

_**What is your favorite anime/manga besides Naruto) and why?**_

**I've been starving for something new because I just finished Vampire Knight, which was depressing, and Bleach just makes me sad now. It's just gotten so bad. Thoughts?**


	6. Your Throne

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Naruto, I swear! Nor do I own the cover photo!**

**Warning: This story has mature content**

**Because she's been so busy lately, my wonderful beta, Bree Avalon hasn't really had the time to read my chapters. Please excuse any grammatical errors or crappy storyline plots.**

**_~s.e.n.s.e.i~_**

**Sensei © hitherelovely**

**Naruto © Misashi Kishimoto**

**Chapter 6– **

_"Your Throne"_

* * *

The world around her spun as Sakura was ushered into a makeup chair; powder, eye-shadow, and deep ruby lipstick applied on her shocked face in a whirl of hands and exclaiming voices.

She couldn't breathe.

Her pink hair was quickly curled into a cascading waterfall down her back by several manicured hands. She could hear herself protesting desperately, but the people around her took no heed, only uttering a few broken phrases and offering apologetic smiles, as if in advance.

She couldn't _breathe_.

Her body felt numb, even as familiar faces dragged her into the immense closet filled with scraps of clothes. She felt herself wince at all the wild colors and the lack of modesty in every outfit. It was like asking a gazelle which way it preferred to die—by a lion's bite or a tiger's claw.

They all looked at her expectantly—urgently.

"Which one?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"I-I…"

* * *

_An Hour Ago…_

Sakura could only gawk in amazement as Aiko and Hana danced, twirled, and astounded everybody on the twin poles. They were as fluid as flowing water, rushing around the poles and then dripping down the sleek metal. Their combination exuded erotic images that would make the most seasoned prostitute blush while at the same time maintaining the secret innocence of a first kiss.

The crowd cheered with joy, hooting cat-calls and saying dirty things that made Sakura grimace and turned her ears pink.

When Aiko ripped off the Mad Hatter coat and balanced upside down on the pole long enough for Hana to grab her hat, _seconds_ before it hit the ground, and put it back on her blonde head, the crowd went absolutely crazy.

Sakura felt herself go slack-jawed at the raw display of flexibility and timing.

Their teamwork would make the finest ANBU team grumble with jealousy—they knew each other so well. It was like they had one mind.

The rest of their dance ended with Aiko unrolling Hana's stripped socks suggestively and concluded with both girls half-naked and giggling as they scurried off the main stage. They walked to smaller stages on other sides of the room, leaving the main stage empty.

After the intro of those two, all the dancers took their places in the various poles dotted around the bar. Sakura wished Ayame luck as the shy girl blushed fitfully and scurried off to do some back-bending tricks on a gleaming pole.

Dread claimed her soul as Sakura sighed pitifully, burying her face in her hands.

_How am I supposed to do all that?_

It was true that she was flexible and had a strong endurance, thanks to her shinobi training, but those girls were _good_. Good at twirling, showing off their bodies, and the things they did on the poles made Sakura shudder and turn an unattractive shade of red.

Hell, even Ayame was grinding against the metal rod like an experienced porn star.

In fact, _all_ the girls were. They were shaking and shimmying and doing quite the dirty dancing.

It was then that Sakura realized.

They were _competing_.

For attention, for the screams of the crowd, but most importantly, for the _money_—all the girls, even her newly-made friends, were willing to do anything, as long as it brought in cash.

Her eyes widened as she recognized Yuki, with her ebony hair, take her scanty nurse top _completely_ off, exposing herself entirely to the roaring crowd, whom in their eagerness, threw piles of green paper at her. Taking all the attention in stride, Yuki grinned, shook her ample chest in front of the crowd, before returning to the pole. The horde of fans whooped and hollered and went absolutely crazy as she dragged her skirt slowly and teasingly down. Flushed as red as an apple, Sakura looked away, unable to comprehend why a person would do that for money.

"Hey, new girl."

The clear voice snapped Sakura immediately out of her thoughts. Blinking, she looked up from her long pink hair.

Megumi, slouched in a chair across from her, a cigarette dangling from her slim fingers, blew out a puff of smoke.

Sakura resisted the urge to sneeze; working in a hospital and smoking really didn't mix. She fought the instinct to tell Megumi that smoking was not allowed on the hospital premises.

As if reading her thoughts, the experienced stripper breathed a sharp cloud of haze right into her face, causing the younger girl to choke and blink back tears.

Deep umber eyes glanced up from long lashes as she spoke.

"A word of advice—stop acting like a virgin."

Then she stood up, impossibly tall in her imposing heels, and stalked off towards the main stage, where the spotlight glowed on her bronzed skin. The only word capable of naming her was odalisque. The second her long legs hit the worn stage, every eye in the room turned to her, even some of the other girls rocking on the poles. It wasn't their fault; Megumi was just captivating, in her nonchalant yet cat-like walk to the pole. Every gaze glued on her, some of the more perverted ones had their mouths open and saliva spilling down. It was shocking how much control she exuded on the club.

And the craziest thing?

She had walked out there in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt.

Nothing gaudy or wild, yet still able to capture the entire room's attention.

And then she started dancing.

* * *

Yuki scoffed, violet eyes glaring at the central stage. She wrapped her hand around the pole and slithered around it, grinding for all she had, but it was no use. The lecherous gazes and their money-filled pockets were locked on Megumi.

The auburn haired girl was twirling almost lazily on the pole, ignoring the desperate hands that rose out of the crowd and the stacks of green being thrown at her feet.

Yuki wrinkled her nose in disgust.

They were like dogs, begging at her feet.

_I don't see what's so special about Megumi._

And she really didn't. The girl didn't even take anything off, she didn't please the crowd; did she think she was a saint or something? And why did she even bother going out on the pole anyways? It wasn't like she _needed_ the money; Yashiro made sure of that. Could she not show her face so that all those perverted bastards would fling their cash at her instead?

_Because I'm going to get out of here one day, once I get enough money saved._

She had decided that long ago, when at the tender age of thirteen, she started stripping.

That of course evolved into other things that plunged her soul into darkness, twisted her mind, and hardened her heart, but her goal was still there, just a step away.

Yashiro let the girls keep a good bit of their money, so over the years working for him, she had a pretty good amount saved up.

Almost enough.

Snorting in disdain, the skinny girl descended down the stage slowly. She was parched and the crowd would stay focused on Megumi for a little while longer, so she had enough time for a quick break.

Striding through the crowded club, she snatched a water from the bar and headed towards the back.

Pushing the exit door open, Yuki breathed in the crisp outside air.

Autumn was approaching and the cool breeze felt heavenly on her hot skin. She uncapped the bottle and drank, leaning against the tattered brick wall.

It was then that she saw him.

He was tall, with a lithe figure, and was slouched against the wall opposite her almost enticingly. His face was hidden in the shadows, but she could pick out wispy strands of light hair, made silver by the moonlight.

She smirked.

Pulling on her suggestive grin, she called out, "Hey sweetie, you in for a good time?"

She shoved her arms underneath her chest, giving him an ample idea of what exactly she had to offer.

The man turned around and smiled and she could see his face.

He was gorgeous, there was no other word to describe him, with his dark sensual orbs and strong jawline. He smiled charmingly and pushed himself off the wall slowly, making his way towards her.

"Why yes," he whispered as he drew near, his steamy breath tickling her collar as he leaned in, arms caging around her, "I am in for a good time."

And then he pulled out a knife.

* * *

Kakashi stiffened, instinctively glancing around the teeming room as his nerves shot through the roof.

Something was wrong.

He had known, from a very young age, that no matter how skilled a shinobi, they will always die without good instincts. If you can do twenty forbidden jutsus, kudos to that, but without an innate drive, something to warn you, a sixth sense of sorts, you can just as easily die from a snake bite or stepping into a trap.

This was one of those moments.

He was in the crowded club, lounging against the bar, a glass of water in his hand, idly eyeing the stages for the strippers. The beating of the music and the roar of the crowd around him drowned out everything. It all seemed like a normal club, with its dancers and occupants, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off; like a mouse running away from a predator it can't see, a predator that soars the skies.

Kakashi tensed, stretching his senses as far out as he could, but didn't notice anything. He felt a twinge of doubt but knew that second-guessing himself could result in him being sawed in half with a blunt knife.

And then he heard it.

The faintest shriek, a cry for help—then silence.

And the nauseating scent of blood filled the air.

Sliding the now empty glass of water across the bar, Kakashi followed the sound of the scream and his keen nose picked up the sharp tang of shed blood. Thankfully, none of the inhabitants of the club seemed to notice that Jack and Ripper had struck again.

Walking out a back room, Kakashi sighed at the sight that greeted him.

He was too late; but he already figured that.

Lying across the cold pavement was Yuki, her previously vibrant lavender eyes now a dimmed grey. Red blood soaked her pale skin like wine on snow; her organs were completely mutilated and cut out. Kakashi could make out everything and whistled lowly. It seemed Jack went to town; her liver was ripped to shreds, her intestines strewn on the concrete, and her kidneys were thrown across the alley.

He sniffed the air and looked for traces of the killer. He knelt down, inspecting the body and scrutinizing closely for evidence.

After a couple minutes of surveying the crime scene, he accepted the inevitable.

He had found _nothing_.

Nothing; not a strand of hair or even a lingering fragrance. Jack was good at killing and disappearing—but how did he do this much damage in the seconds it took Kakashi to reach the door?

The silver-haired jounin frowned as realization hit him like a roundhouse kick to the gut.

Jack the Ripper was a ninja.

A _deadly_ ninja.

Probably somewhere deep within the S-Ranked missing nin in his handy bingo book.

He sighed as he stood up to his full height.

He had a question, one that threatened to drown himself in anger—why _exactly_ wasn't Sakura watching this girl?

* * *

"Sakura," a voice hissed lowly.

The pink-haired girl turned around and found herself face-to-face with her sensei.

A blush blooming almost instantly, she didn't trust herself to speak (after what he did before) so she merely arched a brow.

He caught on immediately. But he didn't look at her; his stormy gaze sailed past her completely.

"There's been another victim," his tone was low and dangerously sharp; she flinched like something bit her, "I thought it was fairly obvious when I explained the mission—you're supposed to be keeping tabs on _all_ the girls, not just the ones on the poles." The last part came out as a hiss and she blanched as she realized her fatal mistake.

It had been years since he spoke to her like that.

_Years_.

The last time he snapped at her like she didn't know a thing; she was a naïve and stupid lovesick genin, and she had trained and pushed herself to the limit, working with Tsunade to make sure that he would never talk to her like that again.

It seemed she didn't work hard enough.

"Megumi will probably find the body soon, she's going to have a lot to do," he paused momentarily, but the anger, frustration, and disappointment still lingered in his voice, "Just…keep an eye out for them."

Then, in a blink of an eye, he was gone, and she stood, staring numbly in the backstage.

_I was so…focused on learning how to do this that…I-I…Yuki's dead._

She'd killed people before; that was a shinobi's job. But not anybody innocent, not anybody who didn't threaten her life or her comrades' lives.

And she'd certainly never been careless enough to lose track of a civilian so easily.

Inwardly, she berated herself. She tugged at her hair and hated herself. Hated herself for being too absorbed and involved in the case, hated herself for not acting like a damn ninja, but most of all, she hated herself for disappointing Kakashi.

And that terrified her.

A shrill scream pierced the air then, yanking her back down to reality.

Sakura frowned, a thin line spreading across her lips.

_I guess they found the body._

* * *

Hushed whispers and tearful, frightened gazes were all throughout the room. All the dancers were huddled together, faces bleached with sorrow and dread. They were all sitting behind the main stage; just a thin curtain separating them from their adoring fans.

"We can't let them know."

A commanding voice, normally strong and unshakeable, now held a slight tremor. Megumi stood alone in the room, looking every bit the commander of an army. Only this army had just suffered a terrible defeat.

The girls, subordinate to their general, immediately hushed.

"We _cannot_ let them know," Megumi repeated, her hazel eyes piercing through the thick mournful fog that obscured that threatened to obscure everything in the room.

"We will lose customers; they'll flee immediately if they knew the Ripper attacked so close," She explained, pausing to clear her throat, "We will lay Yuki to rest after the show tonight, but not _before_."

Nobody dared to speak; every soul in there knew that she was right.

But then a question broke the silence—the deciding question.

"Who will take Yuki's place?"

It was an innocent question, slightly stuttered with the traces of grief, but it was a legitimate thought that Ayame asked.

Sakura stiffened, with the same instinct that had saved Kakashi from an invisible kunai whizzing past his heart; the same drive pounded in her heart and screamed at her to run.

But she forced herself, with gritted teeth, to stay rooted in the chair, her fingers clawing into the splintered wood as she fought the urge to flee.

Megumi's harsh red-rimmed scrutiny turned to her.

"Sakura," she said, "Sakura will take her place."

* * *

_Present Time_

"I-I….the kimono," she whispered, her voice soft, her gaze washing over the elegant costume briefly before lowering to the floor.

Several of the girls nodded in approval, forcing fake smiles on their faces and saying sugary things like, "Yes, definitely—it'll match your hair," and "Wow, it'll look great Sakura-chan," all the while trying to mask their grief and the fact that one of them had died.

And all the while, trying to hide the most blatant question—who would be next?

After helping her to change into the kimono, the girls left the pink-haired kunoichi alone in the changing room. From outside, they called for her to step out and look in the floor-length mirror.

Sakura felt beads of sweat trail down her forehead, probably ruining her makeup. Her heart was pounding, desperately trying to free itself out of its cage and her mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour.

So she started breathing.

_Inhale. It's okay, you're a shinobi; you can do this._

_Exhale. You were trained for this; you have to do this._

After repeating the mantra for a minute or so, Sakura felt her heart calm down and her mind stand still.

The first time that she felt her anxiety paralyze her like that was in a battle with Team Seven. They were hopelessly outmatched; Naruto laid in his own pool of blood somewhere and Sasuke had his demon-wind shuriken stabbed through him. She had stood there, paralyzed, her own breath choking her, until she started the mantra that would save her countless more times.

It was Kakashi who taught her that. Kakashi who, in the middle of a fight, grabbed her hands and pulled her close and told her to just _breathe_.

He had been _so_ stupid; ignoring the enemy shinobi for his apprentice and taking a kunai to the arm for his stupidity.

But she still thanked him for it.

And then she took down half of the enemy shinobi and made Sasuke and Naruto realize that their rival wasn't each other—it was _her_.

So Sakura breathed and she walked out of the dressing room, into her own reflection.

And she gasped.

* * *

**No, I didn't die (though some of you may be wishing I did).**

**I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE!**

**I just…got lost on the road of life—plus, an old lady needed help fetching her cat from a very, very tall tree. **

**Annddd, for all of you who suggested that I watch Attack on Titan, it was partly your fault too, for getting me absolutely ****_obsessed_****. That is a great anime.**

**So please, please review and the question of the chapter is:**

**Which manga/anime pairing should I write about for a one shot? Please include some sort of plotline or theme! I'm open to everything—yaoi, yuri, crack, etc.**

**Special thanks to CherryBiscuit and tazicat12 for introducing me to Attack on Titan! And also to blaircow for suggesting the idea of Sakura's costume.**


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